Garment construction



March 21, 1944. J, 1 CHAMBART ETAL 2,344,915

GARMENT CONSTRUCTION Filed July 1s, 194s 2 sheets-sheet 1 [UI l 'N u L0 v \1 i v L-l- "L 1x i n A /I f I l* n 1: i

March 21, 1944. J. J. CHAMBART ETAL GARMENT CONSTRUCTION Filed July 16. 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 @www Patented Mar. 21, 1944 GARMENT CONSTRUCTION James J. Chambart and Josephine Chambart, New York, N. Y.

Application July 16, 1943, Serial No. 494,906

` 4 Claims.

Thisinvention relates to improvements in garment construction and has particular relation to ladies garments utilizing a placket formation as a part of the garmentensemble.

Garments for the female form are generally of the form-fitting type, thus facing the conditions set up by a smaller waistline dimensions between the bust and the hips; with a multi-piece garment this condition Vis readily met, but with the type known as a one-piece garment the lesser dimensions of the waistline prevent putting on or taking off of the garment, if the waistline zone has permanent form-fitting dimensions. As a result, garments of this type are generally made with a placket formation-generally located below one of the arm holes, with the placket generally capable of being expanded or opened out to provide a temporary dimension of the waistline zone suiiicient to pass over the bust or hipsdependent uponwhich direction the garment is applied to or removed from the wearerthe formation being arranged to permit the placket to be closed and the parts secured when the garment is on the wearer, closing of the placket formation setting up the form-fitting characteristic within the waistline zone. Various developments of placket formations have been utilized, withthe more modern develcpments designed to provide a denite closed appearance, a favorite arrangement being to employ a zipper structure in connection with plaits or folds, together with other fastening means, the purpose being to permit such manipulations as to secure the enlarged dimensions when the formation is opened and to conceal as far as possible the presence of the placket during wearing of the garment. Many different ways of doing this have been contemplated and developed, but all are more or less complicated due to the fact that ready access to the zipper must be had and the fact that the zipper length has to be such that the entire zone between bust and hips must be capable of providing v the variable dimensions. Attempts have been made to elim-v inate the use of the zipper structure by the substitution of other forms'of Yfastening means, but the arrangements proposed haveremained .complicated by the required plaits and folds. v

Among the objects of the invention is that of eliminating the zipper formation, and to substitute therefor an arrangement of separable fasteners so positioned as to provide the form-fitting resultwith the placket opening concealedwhen the fasteners are connected, and provide the result in simple and eiiicient manner; and to permit equally efficient opening of the placket formation during the positioning of the garment on or removal from the wearer. Another object is to permit a limited yield effect or stretch within the waistline zonein horizontal direction-to adjust the zone for a snug t in presence of slight variations in the wearers waist measure. Also, it is a further object to eliminate as far as possible the plait and fold characteristics-other than those provided by seams-generally present in this form of garment, and to provide an arrangement that is simple and efficient in service, durable in construction, and which can be produced at reasonably low cost.

To these and other ends, therefore, the nature of which will be made apparent as the invention is hereinafter disclosed in detail, said invention consists in the improved constructions and combinations of parts hereinafter fully disclosed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference characters indicate similar partsin each of the views- Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a garment, the viewshowing theoutside of the portion below the arm-hole, with the placket formation closed.

Figure 2 is a similar View of the inner or oppo-v site face of the portion shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figures 4 and 5 are fragmentary sectional views taken on lines 4-4 and 5-5 of Figure 2.

vFigures 6 and 7 are sectional views taken on lines 6-6 and 1-1 of Figure .1.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary elevation of a portion of the rear panel and showing the opposite side of the triangular flap.

For the purpose of the description the front o the dress is referred to as the front panel Ill,v and the rear of the dress is referred to as the rear panel H, with the arm-hole to which the sleeve is attached indicated as I2.l Generally,'the placket line extends downward from the vicinity of the nadir point of the arm-hole, the length of the placket-with respect to the front panelgenerally varying from a straight line by being .cut with a very shallow V-shape, sov that when the placket is closed, the form-fitting effect will tend to produce a straight line-the portion of the rear panel co-operating therewith extends approximately straight downward.

In the present invention, however, the placket portion of the front panel is more or less reversed from that just referred to, in that the edge of the front panel is given a shallow inverted V- shape-considered on the basis of a vertical lineso that the edge of the front panel actually projects beyond such vertical line in the form of a front flap Illa which is an integral part of the panel. The front panel ID and rear panel II are joined together in the vicinity of the bottom of flap I Ba by stitching.

Within the placket zone, the rear panel II is internally provided with a triangular flap II a. This ap has its longer side-the side at which the flap is stitched to the rear panel and therefore extending vertically in the assemblycut on the l bias, so that this fiap has the warp and weft` threads of the fabric weave each extending/angular to the vertical, with the two other sidesr of the nap corresponding or extending normal to such warp and weft of the weave.

The arrangement thus far described, provides a union of the. front andA rear panels below the placket zone, with the latter open to the armhole. However,A in practice, lines of stitching Iii-about onel inch. inY length-extend transversely'across a line whichv presents` a continuance of such flap-uniting line, and which extend into the upper and lower end zones of aps Illa and IIa-as indicated in Figures 1 and 2-and limit the active length of the placket zone.

As. will be understood, the closed placket will present ap I 6a as. overlying the rear panel, while flap I la will underlie the front panel. To secure flap IIa in this position the. free apex zone of the nap carries one ofthe members I4 of a snap- A fastener, the complemental member Illa being secured to the inner side ofthe front panel; after the garment is placed on the wearer, this flap is secured in .position by connecting the snap-fas.- tener members, thus connecting the front and rear panels across the placket line, by bringing the Waistline zone into its form-fitting relationship.

,In producing the latter effect the particular formation of flap IIa presents an important function. Aswill be seen from Figures 2 and S, the warp and weft, threadsv of the weaveindicated by the hatching shown-extend angular to both the vertical and the horizontal. Due to the fact that the snap-fastener referred to is remote from both lines of stitching I3. and located on a line midway between them, any pulling effect provided from the arm-hole area will be exerted in the direction of length of one of these threads,

while the weight, of, the garment below the placket f will provide a drawing effect exerted in the direction of length of the other of these threads; since the length of the threads oiers no material yielding effect and the flap is definitely anchored by the snap-fastening, there will be no material yielding vertically of the parts of the garment during service. However, since the bias line of ap Ila extends vertically, and such bias yline presents one of the edgesV of the placket zone,

there is the possibility of a yield horizontally,

since the direction of pull will be exerted angularly to the direction of length of the warp and weft, threads; the length of yield is somewhat limited, duetol the factV that flap Illa is secured to the outer face of the rear panel, as presently K explained, but there is a sufficient amount of yieldr to compensate for at least some of the service conditions, such as slightl adjustment to varia.- tions in the waist measure of the` wearer, etc,

After fiap Ila has been fastened as above indicated, thus placing this ap beneath the front panel, nap Illa is secured in position to overlie the rear panel; the securing may be had in any desired manner, a simple and preferred form being as follows: A snap-fastening member I5 is secured to the underside of the front panel at the point where, under prior practice, the apex of the shallow V-shape cut-away portion would lie-the complemental member IEa of the fastener is carried by they rear panel at the intersection of a horizontal line through such apex and the vertical seam-line along which flap I Ia is secured to the rear panel. As a result, when members I5 and Ia are snapped together the front panel will have the form-fitting relation which had been previously obtained by such shallow V-shape conguration of the placket edge of the front panel, since the fastener brings the front panel to the same position as in the earlier type. Since,

however, the front panel formation of the placket zone is changed to the inverted V-shape, the fastening of the snap-fastener leaves flap Illa unsecured and as of a pseudo-diamond-shape, and this is secured in position relative to the rear panel by a hook and. eye fastening I6 at the free apex zone of the ap lila, the hook being carried by the underside of the flap and the eye-which may be of the thread type-at the proper position on the outer face of the rear panel but with the eye then concealed by the flap.

By this arrangement, it is apparent that the placket will be held` closed by the use of the two snap-fasteners and the hook and eye, all located on the horizontal line referred to with fastener I5, Ia directly connecting the two panels together, while fastener I4, I 4a connects fiat IIa to the underside of the front panel, and the hook and eye formation I6 connects flap Illa and the outer side of the rear panel. Hence, the two panels are secured together atthree spaced-apart points all located on the same horizontal line,` and all readily manipulated for either closing or opening the placket.

Thel seams employed are of the usual type used in tailoring-the material sections are made oversize and are then stitched together along the proper lines, after which the excess selvage portions-indicated as ll-are folded` over onto the body of the panels or aps; the seam thus tends to take on a thread-concealing characteristic. A number of advantages are present. For instance, flapY Ilia-which under prior practice is omitted, tends to give the closed garment a more ornamental appearance, in that the straight line effect is changedto an` inverted V-shape; however, it also provides the functional effect of completelyV concealing the seam along which flap I la is secured to the rear panel; in addition it provides for a third securing position between the panels although this third position appears only to provide for nap-fastening. In other words, positioned flap Ita conceals all visible evidence of the presence of a closed placket zone.

Flap Ila, provides a second fastening point (I4, Ilia) between the front and rear panels, this point and the hook and eye being located on opnosite sides of and spaced from the direct fastening (l5, I5a) between the twoV panels, thusl completing the three-pointA fastening of the two panels on the horizontal line which represents the waistline. In addition, however, the bias characteristic of nap IIa serves the additional important advantage of, permitting the limited yield effect on the waistlne with its ability to provide slight adjustable compensation Within the Waistline zone,

In addition, these results are obtained practically free of folds or plaits so far as the placket zone is concerned, the assembly of the placket formation, presenting-other than the foldedover seam selvage portions-the characteristics of a two-ply characteristic within the waistline zone area which is defined on one side by the free edge of flap Illa, (exposed) and on the other side by the free edges of ap lla (concealed), and with the placket line (presented by the secured edge of ap Ila, and which is concealed during wearing of the garment) indicative of the division line of the two panels within this twoply zone, thus placing the panels as one of the plies and the respective flaps as the other ply; this division line of the panels is not visible during wearing of the garment since flap Illa is integral with the front panel and thus presents the appearance of being an integral part of the front panel instead of a flap.

It is apparent, of course, that although the assembly thus described is set forth as presenting the conditions of a form-fitting structure, the invention is not limited in this respect, since the position of fastener members Ma, and I on the under face of the front panel, and the position of the thread eye of the fastening I6 on the outer face of the rear panel, can be varied so as to provide for any desired waistline zone characteristic of the garment, so that it is obvious that the garment can be provided in other styles, including garments suitable for maternity purposes.

While we have herein disclosed a preferred form of structure, it will be readily understood that changes or modifications therein may be found desirable or essential in meeting the exigencies of service or the desires of the wearer, and we therefore reserve the right to make any and all such changes or modifications therein as may be found desirable or essential insofar as the same may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the accompanying claims, when broadly construed.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In garment construction wherein the garment includes a placket formation extending across the waistline and positioned between the front and rear panels of the garment and with the placket line extending generally in the direction of the arm-hole of the garment, and in combination, a rear panel having a triangular flap secured thereto along the placket line and adapted t0 extend in underlying relation to and be removably secured to the front panel, a front panel having a flap of shallow inverted triangular V-shape formed integral therewith with the flap adapted to overlie the placket line of the rear panel and be removably secured to such rear panel a material distance beyond such line, said front and rear panels respectively carrying the members of a separable fastening means with the rear panel member positioned at the intersection of the placket line with a horizontal line corresponding to the waistline and with the front panel member located on such horizontal line but remote from the free apex of the shallow inverted V-shaped flap, the free apices of the flaps being adapted to lie substantially on such horizontal line, the straight edges of the two triangular` flaps forming the base lines of the triangles opposite the fastening means normally being in a single line extending lengthwise of the garment, and individual means for detachably securing the respective aps to the opposing panel with such means located within such free apex zones, whereby the placket may be detachably closed with the placket line concealed by detachably connecting the panels at three spaced-apart points on the waistline.

2. Garment construction as in claim l characterized in that the intermediate separable fastening means is positioned on the base lines of the two triangular flaps with the other two fastening means positioned respectively at the apices of the triangular flaps to produce form-fitting characteristics of the panels in the waistline zone when the fastening means members are in connected relation.

3. Garment construction as in claim l characterized in that the front and rear panels are permanently connected by a pair of stitching lines extending transverse to and crossing the placket line with the respective stitching lines located within zones in the vicinity of the ends of the secured side of the triangular flap to thereby determine the length-dimension limits of the placket formation opening in the direction of length of the placket line.

4. Garment construction as in claim l characterized in that the material of the triangular ap secured to the rear panel has two of its three sides formed normal, one to the weave warp and the other to the weft threads of the material with the third side cut bias to the Warp and weft threads and with such bias-out side presenting the Zone in which the hap is secured to the placket line of the rear panel, whereby the assembly will permit slight horizontal stretch in the waistline zone for snug adjustment under slight variations in the wearers waist measure.

JAMES J. CHAMBAR'T. JOSEPHINE CHAMBART. g 

